Brooklyn Parlor—"Take a walk on the wild side," it says, and "Music, Cafe, Books, Eat, Bar"—is a space about five minutes' walk from Shinjuku Station (actually in Shinjuku 3-chome) that tries to cover it all: cafe, bar, restaurant, music and dance space, library, and a place to showcase what's happening and what's being created in Tokyo.

Mainly, however, Brooklyn Parlor is a restaurant-cafe. Brooklyn Cafe is in spacious B1 premises under Shinjuku's OIOI Annex building (home to the Wald9 Cinema complex). The decor is woody and bricky, the ceiling is high—giving it an even more spacious, relaxed feel, it is subtly lit, and one wall is lined with books, there for the buying or browsing. (But in this age of the Kindle and other electronic books, the books seem very much there for the mood than anything else.) A very sophisticated selection of CDs is also on offer for rare music fans.

A group of friends and I dined at Brooklyn Parlor last night, a Monday, and it was packed. We were sat down at a sofa on one side of a low table and two easy chairs on the other. We started with drinks and then chose a few dishes from the extensive menu (but with minute type clearly intended for under-30s!).

The service was efficient and attentive, the waiters goodlooking, and the food was on the generous side in volume, very well prepared, and appetizing.

Every Tuesday from 7.30pm to 10pm, Brooklyn Parlor in Shinjuku is the venue for the "Good Music Parlor" featuring DJs and musicians, for a supremely urban edge to your dining, drinking, and, if you're not too square or cool, your dancing!

Brooklyn Parlor is open every day of the week from 11:30am to 11:30pm (Last food orders are at 10pm and last drink orders at 10:30pm on weekdays, and at 9:30pm and 10pm on weekends and public holidays.) Brooklyn Parlor is about 7 minutes walk from the east exit of Shinjuku Station.